11.11.10

Dan and I are all settled in PDX. We are both on Ironclad now and are living in a green (as in the color) 3577 with a couple of teammates. Our living room is filled with bikes :-)

I continue to ride my bike and Dan only moves sometimes, but when he DOES get on a bike he goes pretty fast, and sometimes wins, with the help of the rest of the boys.

I quit my job and am back in school getting pre-reqs for a master's degree in Occupational Therapy. I'm at the tip of a gigantic iceberg in terms of discovering how wonderful and interesting OT is, but its an exciting feeling, and I think I might have finally found my "CALLING". Well, I made a decision, and that's an important first step. The biggest challenge will be getting into school. Hummmm.

The last year, for me, was spent sleep-deprived in a raincloud. I did make a lot of friends and joined a racing team that has basically become my family. However, the longish commute out of town wore on me and I got stressed, irritable, had a constant cold, and fell out of love with everything. I don't know how I rode a bike at all, but I did alright in races, though not as well as I'd have liked, and I didn't enjoy it as much as I should have.

Being back in school is fabulous. I'll need to find a job shortly, but it feels good to just re-center. I look forward to doing better in races and to just have more fun!

Lists:

1) Kettlebells are the hottest way to get swoll.

2) Acupuncture clears your head and makes you more friendly toward the world.

3) When racing cyclocross:
a. Pre-ride the course.
b. Start behind/next to the fastest person and go out hard.
c. Put in several hard efforts in order to pass people, preferably
before a technical portion of the course in order to control the pace and
slow them down.
d. Slow down before a slick/weird corner, block the person you just passed, and
sprint out of the corner. Bye Bye!

4.11.10

1. Gone back to skool. At first I was really dreading this. but so far gradskool year 2 has been a LOT more enjoyable. I've got a pretty good thesis topic, and my studio is fun. We'll see how I feel about this in a month or so once the craze of finals sets in.....

2. Accepted an offer to ride for this team in 2011. More on this later! SO EXCITED. RAR!!!

3. Moved to a new 'hood in Philly. I won't go into much detail here, but if any of you are Arrested Development fans, I am basically living in the Model Home.

4. Went to Austin, TX for a conference.

In addition to learning lots, networking, and attending some swanky parties, I hung out with pedi-cab drivers (pilots? peddlers?) and ate korean tacos from the food carts. And I rented a bike from Mellow Johnny's and went for a pretty sweet ride. fun times.

5. Discovered the joys of foam rollers and amino acids in recover drinks.